Now that you have sorted and processed your items, you are now ready for the first step in this process, taking the pictures you will use for your listings.

The number of photos you need to take will depend on the type of item as well as its condition. Here is a quick breakdown:

NIB (new in box) / NWT (new with tags):

Most times you can get away with only one photo, but you may need a few more if there are details on the box that you would like the buyer to know about. For example this could be detailed information on the back of the box. With toys it could the detailed description about the product. I personally try to cut down on the amount of photos I take as additional photos may cost money. I like to add the details to the item description instead of a photo, but its totally up to you. If its something you'd like to see if you were the buyer, then include it.

A good example of a few items I have recently sold are:

As you can see, both pictures are pretty self explanatory as to what the customer is buying.

In the case of the desk lamp, I did include the details listed on the box so it was easier for the buyer to read what it contained as opposed to trying to read it off the image, but that is a matter of personal preference.

Items with defects:

For these types of images you will want to take general photos of the image so the buyer knows what they are bidding on, but you will also want to take detailed photos of any defects you found on the item. This would include wear marks, holes on clothing, noticeable damage ie chips to china etc.

A good example of this is an pair of tea cups that had noticeable wear to the rim of the cup.

Keep in mind my photos are taken with a Nikon D90 DSLR, so you may not be able to obtain detailed photos like mine if you happen to be using your iPhone, or a standard point in shoot. In that case you may need to enlist the help of a friend with a more powerful lens to get the detailed images as noting defects is critical to disclosing every fault you know of to your buyer.

All other items:

This is the category that all other items fall into. For me I commonly end up with one photo, or maybe a few more if it happens to be a huge lot of items. The key is to make sure you get photos of everything the buyer will receive should they win the auction. That way there are no surprises when they receive your item as well as it will cut down on the amount of questions you may receive from potential buyers.

A good example of these are some of the craft lots I sold as of recent. At times I had as many as 8 photos included in my listing but that helped to give the buyer a solid understanding of what they were getting, and also helped avoid any buyer disputes because the item they received is not what they were expecting.

Below are a few examples:

NOTE: These are just a few of the photos I have actually used on eBay